1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image capture apparatus well suited for, for example, close-up photography for performing biometric authentication, such as vein authentication and fingerprint authentication, and for close-up photography performed to read, for example, OCR (optical character recognition) and QR (quick response) codes. In addition, the present invention relates to a biometric authentication apparatus for performing authentication of a specific user in accordance with a biological organism pattern of, for example, a vein photographed by the image capture apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 32 is a view showing an example of a general layout of an image capturing camera and an illumination light disposed to a housing of a previously proposed imaging function-enabled mobile terminal (such as a camera-enabled mobile phone terminal, for example). In order to facilitate understanding of the arrangement of respective component elements, FIG. 32 depicts the state of the mobile phone terminal as partly perspectively viewed from the lateral side. FIG. 33 to be referenced below is similar to FIG. 33.
The mobile phone terminal shown in FIG. 32 is a camera-enabled mobile phone terminal in which a first housing 110a and a second housing 110b that are foldable via a rotary hinge member (not shown). The first housing 110a includes a display section 102 constituted of, for example, a liquid crystal display. The second housing 110b includes a keyboard section 103 having, for example, ten keys, and a battery section 104. The first housing 110a has two housing surfaces, i.e., major surfaces (“first and second major surfaces,” hereinbelow) correlative to one another. The display section 102 is disposed on the first major surface, and a camera section 105 and a light section 106 are provided on the second major surface. The camera section 105 is configured from an image capture device and an imaging optical system. The light section 106 is configured from, for example, a LED (light emitting device) and an illumination optical system.
In the previously proposed mobile phone terminal shown in FIG. 32, the imaging optical system of the camera section 105 and the illumination optical system of the light section 106 are disposed such that the optical axes thereof are both substantially perpendicular to the second major surface of the first housing 110a. As such, during image capture by using the camera section 105, it is desirable that a photographic subject 109 is positioned apart at a focusable distance and substantially parallel to the first major surface of the first housing 110a in the imaging optical system.
Such positioning of the photographic subject 109 is effected not only in the normal image capture event, but also during image capture in the close-up photography. Of course, the positioning is similarly effected in the event that a photographic subject 109 is illuminated by the light section 106 and is captured by the camera section 105.
FIG. 33 is a view showing another example of a general layout of an image capturing camera and an illumination light disposed to a housing of a previously proposed imaging function-enabled mobile terminal (such as a camera-enabled mobile phone terminal). In FIG. 33, respective component elements having the same functions as those of the mobile phone terminal shown in FIG. 32 are designated by the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted herefrom.
In the mobile phone terminal shown in FIG. 33, the camera section 105 and the light section 106 are on the side of the other housing surface (second major surface) correlated to the housing surface (first major surface) on which the keyboard section 103 is provided.
In the previously proposed mobile phone terminal shown in FIG. 33, the imaging optical system of the camera section 105 and the illumination optical system of the light section 106 are disposed such that the optical axes thereof are both substantially perpendicular to the second major surface of the first housing 110a. As such, similarly as in the mobile phone terminal shown in FIG. 32, during image capture by the camera section 105, it is desirable that a photographic subject 109 is apart at a focusable distance and substantially parallel to the first major surface of the first housing 110a in the imaging optical system.
Such positioning of the photographic subject 109 is effected not only in the normal image capture event, but also during image capture in the close-up photography. Of course, the positioning is similarly effected in the event that a photographic subject 109 is illuminated by the light section 106 and is captured by the camera section 105.
As an adapted example of close-up photography by a camera-enabled mobile phone terminal, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-152587 (refer to FIGS. 1, 3, 7) discloses a mobile phone terminal. The terminal includes near infrared light source emitting with near infrared light and a CCD camera section having a filter transmitting near infrared light. The near infrared light is irradiated on a biological organism from the near infrared light source, and pattern light (blood vessel pattern light, for example) obtained via the interior of the biological organism is captured by the CCD camera section. Then, a blood vessel formation pattern obtained from an image signal of the pattern light of the specific tissue is compared with a preliminarily registered proper user (registered user). Thereby, authentication (so-called biometric authentication) is carried out to verify whether a terminal user of the terminal is the registered user.